Help Make the Case: Build Support for Prevention Strategies That Are Working
In West Virginia, farm-to-school programs are improving school food, allowing kids to sample fresh produce in their school lunches and helping farmers identify regular customers. In Hennepin, the Minnesota county that includes Minneapolis, 350 apartment buildings have changed policies and become completely smoke-free, providing healthier environments for renters. These and scores of other communities across the country are becoming healthier places with support from Community Transformation Grants provided by the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
The grants support critical on-the-ground efforts to stem rising rates of chronic disease. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency that administers the program, about 130 million Americans live in communities that have received transformation grants and stand to benefit from the efforts. A recent American Public Health Association article captured some of the success stories here.
Despite the value of these investments, the Prevention and Public Health Fund has been a frequent target in Congress and remains vulnerable to attack. As prevention champions, we must continue to bring these vital efforts to the attention of the media—and remind the public that programs like these keep people healthy in the first place.
To help you make the case for prevention funding, we’ve rounded up some resources about the Prevention and Public Health Fund and Community Transformation Grants:
We hope you’ll join the chorus of voices standing up for the Fund’s successes by writing a letter to the editor or Op-Ed. If you do, don’t forget to send us an email and we’ll include it in an upcoming Rapid Response.
